PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Zoran Popović

Zoran Popović is a computer scientist whose work connects artificial intelligence, computer graphics, and games for scientific discovery and learning. In 1999, he earned a computer science PhD at Carnegie Mellon and joined the University of Washington's CSE faculty. In 2008, he helped develop Foldit, a protein-folding game that brought players into scientific research; their work led to Nature and PNAS papers. He founded Enlearn to adapt instruction to classroom needs. He is a UW professor who directs the Center for Game Science.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 1999

    Character animation PhD

    At Carnegie Mellon, he earns a PhD in computer science in 1999 under advisor Andrew Witkin; his dissertation introduces a physically based method for transforming character animation while preserving its essential physical properties. His education also includes a Brown Sc.B. with honors and a Carnegie Mellon M.S. in computer science.

  2. Since 1999

    Joining the UW faculty

    He joins the University of Washington's CSE faculty in 1999.

  3. 2004

    A SIGGRAPH research award

    In 2004, ACM SIGGRAPH gives him the Significant New Researcher Award.

  4. 2008

    Foldit enters protein research

    Foldit is released in 2008 as a protein-folding puzzle that asks players to crowdsource a scientific problem. Popović leads the team behind the game.

  5. 2010

    A Nature paper on Foldit

    In 2010, he coauthors Nature's “Predicting protein structures with a multiplayer online game.” The paper describes Foldit players collaborating to develop algorithms and search strategies for refining protein structures.

  6. 2011

    Players devise Foldit algorithms

    In 2011, he is principal investigator of Foldit as UW researchers compare player recipes with methods used by protein scientists. The study treats player-made recipes as algorithms for protein-structure puzzles.

  7. 2015

    Adaptive learning at Enlearn

    In 2015, he is founder and Chief Scientist of Enlearn. Its platform adapts learning to the classroom environment and teachers.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and game science director

    As of October 2026, he is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Washington and directs the Center for Game Science.

Career

  1. Since 1999University of WashingtonProfessor of Computer Science
  2. From 2015EnlearnFounder and Chief Scientist

Education

  1. 1999Carnegie Mellon UniversityM.S.
  2. Brown UniversitySc.B.

From the biography.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Zoran Popović | Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Department csd.cmu.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.
  2. Zoran Popović, Professor - Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering cs.washington.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.
  3. UW CSE Ph.D. alum Noah Snavely wins 2014 SIGGRAPH Significant New Researcher Award news.cs.washington.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.
  4. UW CSE’s Center for Game Science in NY Times news.cs.washington.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.
  5. Predicting protein structures with a multiplayer online game | Nature nature.com. Checked 26 October 2026.
  6. Paper uncovers power of Foldit gamers strategies | UW News washington.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.
  7. Improving education with technology: Enlearn, founded by UW CSE’s Zoran Popovic, bringing adaptable curricula to market news.cs.washington.edu. Checked 26 October 2026.